Amritsar, September 6 International Airlines have voiced their serious concern over the absence of Runaway Visual Range (RVR) device at the international airport here. The device records visibility for clearance to aircraft’s take-off or landing. They called for urgent installation of the device.

The absence of RVR during winter or foggy season, when visibility is poor, could jeopardize flight schedules, causing loss of lakhs to operating airlines, they complain, it was argued.

Airport Director V.S. Mulekar admitted to having received complaints from operating airlines besides queries from various new airlines about this.

He stated that Airport Authority of Indian (AAI) had taken up issue with Meterological Department and a space had been demarcated near runaway. But he could not explain the delay.

Seven airlines private/national have lodged complaints with the Director, AAI, for urgent steps to set up meterological device before the onset of winter as fogs, known to cover the area for many miles together, would lower visibility levels.

“The probability of delay or cancellation of flight remains high and apprehension lingers about human error”, they said.

As many as 45 flights had been operating weekly coping with passenger rush of three lakh per annum.

Air Deccan, Indian Airlines, Uzbekistan Airlines, Ariana Afghan, Air India, Air Slovakia, Turkmenistan Airlines have expressed concern over the absence of the RVR device that was installed at most international airports.

Malaysian and more Italian airlines were ready to launch their operations shortly. Many other international airlines too have expressed their keenness on this route.

Amritsar S. No. Name of work Last date for submission of application for Tender Estimated Cost (Rs.) 14 Recarpeting of Perimeter Road at C.A., Amritsar 20/09/2005 33.87 lacs 13 Provision of Road for connection of New Fire Station with City side and Perimeter Road 20/09/2005 24.15 lacs 12 Upgradation and development of Amritsar Airport. SH. i) Diversion of traffic light cable from old control tower to new control tower.

Passengers to have access to duty-free shopping at Rajasansi Airport Rashmi Talwar

“Flamingo Duty free”, the first private duty-free outlet in India, has now glided into the Rajasansi International Airport here. The concern offers a wide array of products at competitive rates and claims to have been in the forefront to bring Indian duty-free industry at par with global standards.

The shopping outlet can be approached both at the arrival and the departure terminals at the airport, though it is restricted presently to the passengers with international destinations.

The flamingoes have already been operating in top-12 international airports in India, including those at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calicut, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Trichy, and now Amritsar is the latest addition, says the spokesperson of Flamingo Duty free.

The concern comprises 25 shops in various airports selling a range of chocolates, perfumes, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, tobacco, electronic items, including laptops, television sets, air conditioners and home appliances.

Interestingly, one can find even “Nido” (milk powder), almonds and even pista at low prices, the concern claims. Some of the products are even cheaper than in gulf countries, say the owners.

Offering personalised service experience, the outlet also promises a wider variety in products and special offers! Buttressing their claim, they contend that international tie-ups enable them to offer unmatchable prices and discounts to customers which are otherwise “unattainable”.

The airport authorities have placed these shopping arenas beyond the baggage check-ins.

Chandigarh, September 17 Impressed by nearly 10 per cent growth rate in international aviation in South Asia, two more American airlines — Continental and American — have decided to extend their operations to India from November 1 this year.

While American Airlines will operate on Delhi-Chicago sector, Continental will air link Delhi with Newark in New Jersey.

While North American air carriers are evincing interest in expanding Indian market, Air Canada, the only international air carrier operating a non-stop flight between New Delhi and Toronto, has decided to make a halt in Zurich, Switzerland.

By end of October, the popular Delhi-Toronto-Delhi flight will be replaced by Delhi-Zurich-Toronto-Zurich-Delhi flight.

While more and more international carriers, especially North American and European are interested in expanding their Delhi operations; South East Asian carriers continue to view [b]Amritsar as a major market.

Another international air carrier eyeing Indian market in general and North India in particular is Malaysian airline, which wants to extend its operations to Amritsar.

Though initially Malaysian airline was keen to start its Amritsar operations from November 1 this year, but the plan has been deferred for the time being.

Malaysian will become second Asian airline after Singapore airline to extend its operations to Amritsar. Amritsar-Singapore flight helps passengers bound for various destinations in South east, down under (Australia-New Zealand) besides the Los Angeles and Vancouver sector of North America.

Impressed by the success of Singapore airlines, Malaysian airlines, too, is keen to increase its share from the second north Indian air hub after Delhi.

Sources in the aviation sector maintain that British Airways may soon extend its operations to Amritsar as it can cater to travel needs of Indian diaspora to almost entire Europe and North America.[/b]

New Delhi: The private sector and state-owned airlines from Italy are keen to operate to more Indian cities, including Chennai and Bangalore, the Italian Director General of Civil Aviation, Silvano Manera, has said. Today in Sify Finance

"We will make a request to the Indian authorities to allow Italian airlines to operate to Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata. Besides, the private sector airline, Euroflight is keen to enter into an agreement with Air India to operate on the Rome-Delhi route.

Similarly, the state-owned Alitalia is keen to operate on this route and is also examining the option of flying to Amritsar," Manera told Business Line on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. At present, no airline from India operates to Italy while Alitalia operates direct flights between Italy and India. However, at least one more private sector airline - Blue Panorama apart from Euroflight and one cargo airliner - Ocean were keen to operate to India, Manera said.

Manera will not only be meeting the Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, and Chairman, Airports Authority of India, K. Ramalingam, but also attempt to impress on the Indian authorities the need to schedule the air services bilateral talks between India and Italy at the earliest.

Earlier this year, India and the UK agreed to a bilateral air services agreement that allows the airlines from the UK to operate as many flights as they want to any Indian airport except for Delhi and Mumbai where the increase will be gradual. However, operations of airlines

NEW DELHI: The Indian economy is growing at a galloping pace. It grew a robust 8.1 percent in the April-June 2005 quarter from a year ago, lifted by strong manufacturing as well as services such as banking and tourism. India has become the second most favoured destination for investments. With the opening up of the aviation sector for the private sector, more and more airlines are planning to commence flights. New airlines that are planning to take to wings are Jeh Wadia's GoAir and Coimbatore-headquartered Paramount Airways.

Another airline that is planning to commence operations by October-end is Indus Airways -- the origin of India. Indus is obtaining two 50-seater CRJ-200 from Lufthansa in the next couple of weeks with the buyback lease of five years. Three more CRJ-200s would join the fleet by the year-end, according to Brig Kapil Mohan, Chairman of Mohan Meakins.

To expand its connectivity, the Chairman said the airline would purchase two 75-seater CRJ-700s and three Boeing 737-800 aircraft in 2006 taking its strength to ten. Brig Kapil Mohan, who is also Chairman of Indus Airways and is the main promoter of the airline, said the actual date of the launch in October was being worked out with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and would be announced soon.

Besides Brig Kapil Mohan, Indus Airways has three Directors on the Board including Mr Krishan Gopal Beri, who is Managing Director of M/s Beri and Beri Cold Storage and General Mills (P) Ltd; Mr Parminder Lakhanpal, a London-based NRI; and Mr Baldev Seth, a garment exporter. Mr Amarjit Sangha, a Toronto-based NRI, is one of the investors in the airline that has a starting equity base of Rs 10 crore.

The airline plans to launch operations on two sectors. First being Delhi-Chandigarh-Mumbai-Jammu and return and the second sector being Delhi-Amritsar-Mumbai-Goa and return. "These are hitherto unconnected sectors and have a huge potential," he said. The CRJs would operate in a single class configuration and would be fitted with executive class seats. While foreign pilots would operate the aircraft, Indus Airways has sent several Indian pilots to Montreal for being trained on the CRJs.

He said the airline would provide "very reasonable fares with best of frills." On the long-haul flights, he said the airline would provide good quality food for which we have hired some specialists. He said "it will be service with a smile." Brig Kapil Mohan, who is known is known as a doer, said "the airline has hired professionals to take the airline to new heights in the Indian aviation."

He said the airline has hired two best aviators for its operations in Northern and Central and Southern India. Capt A P C Kapoor, ex-Director (operations) Air India and a senior Commander and instructor of Boeing 747-400, would be based in Mumbai and head the operations of Central and Southern India.

Similarly, Capt M S Sandhu, ex-General Manager, Air India and Boeing 747 instructor, would be based in Chandigarh and head the operations of Northern India. Mr G S Bankoti, also ex-Air India, would look after Administration and Safety. The airline has also hired 10 foreign pilots and 10 Indian co-pilots, 20-cabin crew and 20 ground staff, and six engineers. Airline's full-fledged reservation system would be in place shortly, said Mr Krishan Gopal Beri and added that both the aircraft would be based in Delhi.

Mr Beri said the emphasis would be on quality - be it food, service or in-flight comforts. He said there would also be emphasis on on-time performance and intelligent schedules. "In other words, a passenger could catch a flight early morning and return home by night after completing his task. That will also save him on his hotel bills." He said the company would offer honest and straightforward flat fares.

Designed to provide superior efficiencies to small operators and major airlines alike, Mr Baldev Seth said the Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft has firmly established itself as the world's quietest and most environmentally friendly commercial jet aircraft. He said the aircraft's 50-seat capacity and low trip cost -- fuel burn is 10 per cent less than its nearest competitor -- allow airlines to provide jet services on routes where low load factors make larger jet aircraft unprofitable.

Mr Seth said the Bombardier CRJ200 can extend the range from hub airports or bypass congested hubs for more non-stop services between cities in smaller markets. The aircraft complements some bigger jets by flying their routes at off-peak times of day, allowing airlines to maintain the all-important flight frequency.

Mr Amarjeet Sangha said the 64- to 70- passenger Bombardier CRJ700 Series 701 and 75-seat Bombardier CRJ700 Series 705 are members of the highly successful Bombardier CRJ family of regional jets.

Ever since entering service over a decade ago, the Bombardier CRJ has changed the way people travel. Today, more than 1,200 Bombardier CRJ aircraft fly with operators large and small all over the world. The first Bombardier CRJ100 was delivered to Lufthansa in 1992, after the initial flight in November 1991. In 1996, the Bombardier CRJ200 was launched with higher performance engines. The Bombardier CRJ700 made its maiden flight in May 1999 and was delivered to inaugural customer Brit Air/Air France in January 2001.

While the Rajasansi International Airport is supposedly being upgraded by the authorities, the conveniences offered there have gone into a downward spiral.

The two lavatories in the departure waiting lounge are stinking to knock a weak hearted person out of his senses. The flushes are out of order and the ventilators in the back wall are low enough to help a passerby have a look into the activity going on inside the loo.

The most shocking experience one would have there is in corner of the hall having two large water coolers attached to two water filters, out of which one is out of order while the other had only one outlet tap giving out a weak squirt of the nature’s nectar.

Even this was stopped allegedly by the contractor of the canteen to mint money from the sale his products. The disappointed visitors have to buy a mineral water bottle, which is being sold at much higher rates than its market price in the canteen, located in one corner of the lounge.

On being asked the canteen boy admitted that “Asi dehd lakh da theka aive ta nahi leya, kujh kamauna vi ta hai” (we have received a contract for Rs 1.5 lakh and must earn from it) was his bashful reply.

Further, the condition of mineral water bottles did not require a journalist’s eye to swear by the fact that the bottle had been filled up from tap and then sealed off manually. The experience at the airport upsets many passengers and brings bad repute to the nation and its authorities, many say.

Rajasansi (Amritsar), November 23 Afghanistan airlines Ariana Afghan, the first to start international flight between Amritsar and Kabul, has temporarily suspended its operations due to the non-feasibility of cargo and flight passengers.

According to internal feasibility report of the airlines, the non-commissioning of cargo terminal and loss of passenger booking, including business travellers to the war-ravaged country has been the main hurdle. The flight was operating once a week earlier, but in the past six months only six flights took off.

Only one flight took off last month and no flight has taken off this month, admitted Mr Prithvi Raj, Manager, Ariana Afghan. The killing of a kidnapped Indian in Afghanistan has further created tension and would adversely affect the flight operations.

The fact that Delhi airport was better equipped for cargo-handling with lesser costs to exporters/ importers, has attracted bulk of operations from Kabul. Besides facilities for re-routing goods arriving from several countries to Kabul, it was favoured for international aid, re-building and construction contracts worth crores.

Jalandhar, November 20 To mitigate the problems faced by NRIs and other Punjabis in boarding international flights from Indira Gandhi International Airport, it is imperative that Rajasansi Airport near Amritsar be developed into an international airport complete with all facilities.

The Punjab government should take up the matter concerning the expansion of Rajasansi Airport with the Centre immediately. Also, efforts should be made to convert the Jalandhar-Amritsar and Jalandhar-Pathankot roads into six-lane roads.

This was observed by Dr Manohar Singh Gill, MP and former Chief Election Commission of India, who was here to inaugurate the Lala Lajpat Rai College of Nursing Education set up by the Gulab Devi Memorial Hospital Trust on the premises of Gulab Devi Hospital here today.

Mr Gill said about 45 per cent of foreign travellers, who took flights to different countries from Delhi Airport were from Punjab. They faced many problems in going to Delhi and taking the flight from the airport there. The problems also kept foreign tourists at bay and discouraged them, despite the fact that Punjab was a good tourist destination, he added.

“Expansion of Amritsar airport will not only offer more facilities to NRIs and tourists, but would also give a boost to the economy of Punjab. More tourists would get attracted to the state, which has a large number of historical places,” he said.

He also suggested that to give a fillip to trade and industry, an International Export Centre could be set up in Punjab, from where agricultural produce, including fresh vegetables, could be exported to the Gulf and other countries. The proposed centre could also export apples from Himachal, and Jammu and Kashmir, and in turn, the revenue of these two states could increase, and farmers could benefit from the export of their crop.

Lamenting that sportspersons (apart from cricketers) were not being encouraged in Punjab, he said, “Budding sportspersons from Punjab have a great potential, but this needs to be tapped. For this, they need better facilities.”

Laying emphasis on the need to educate women, he said education was the “real gift” that parents and society could give to girls. “Education enables a woman to fight against all odds,” he said, adding that there was a great demand for Indian nurses in foreign countries.

Ms G. Bajwa, Principal of the College of Nursing, Gulab Devi Hospital, also spoke on the occasion.

NEW DELHI, NOV 28: In a bid to further boost tourist inflows from India, Sri Lanka is looking at expanding its air services to more cities, including Ahmedabad, Goa and Kolkata. The island nation which currently operates the largest number of international flights from India — about 90 a week — is looking to start at least three flights from each of the new destinations by March 2006. The neighbouring country is also exploring possibilities of starting air services from Colombo to Amritsar. The Punjab government presented a draft MoU to this effect to the Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) on Monday.

Additionally, the country is also looking at starting ferry services between the two countries, Sri Lanka Tourism Board chairman Udaya Nanayakkar told reporters.

India accounted for the single largest chunk of arrivals — 21% — into Sri Lanka totalling 82,434 for the first nine months of calendar year 2005, reflecting a 21.5% growth over 2004. “Tourist arrivals from India will exceed one lakh in 2005 and are expected to exceed 2.5 lakh by the end of the decade,” Mr Nanayakkar said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry — the fourth largest contributor at $430 million in 2004 to that country’s GDP — has rebounded strongly following the devastating effects of the tsunami which hit the country in December 2004.

According to the SLTB chief, visitor arrivals in the first nine months of the year have reached 4,05,585, recording an increase of 8% over the same period of January-September in 2004.

The country is now expecting the peak tourist season from November to March to be another record year, with projections indicating that visitor arrivals will exceed the five lakh mark for the third consecutive year.

Elaborating further, Mr Nanayakkar said that a few Indian hospitality majors have also shown keen interest in developing hotels in the country. Apart from the Taj Group, which currently has three properties and is now investing in developing the fourth, two more investors are keen to invest in developing 200-room hotels in Sri Lanka, he added.

Amritsar, November 28 A lot of inconvenience caused to 131 passengers along with a crew of eight travelling by Air Slovakia flight GM 556 from here to Bergmao (Milan) when the Civil Aviation Department of Iran refused permission to overfly its territory. The passengers were stranded here for over 12 hours last night.

The spokesman of Air Slovakia, Mr G.P. Singh, said this was perhaps for the first time that this unsavory situation occurred as they had valid permission but due to communication gap, the Iranian air controller refused permission to overfly its territory and plane had to return to Amritsar. He added that the confusion was further compounded as yesterday being Sunday holiday in both India and Iran and as such they were unable to take permission from the higher authorities.

The flight took off this morning after due permission was accorded today from both the governments.

In the meanwhile, due to inclement weather in Kabul, the scheduled Jeddah-Dubai-Kabul flight of Airana-Afgan airlines had to be diverted to Rajasansi airport this morning. According to the local manager, Mr Prithivi Raj Dhiman, the flight took off after two hours when the weather cleared over Kabul.

new airport?, what crap!, lousy service, corrupt officials at the custom office. Airport official who check you past lugage clearance ie immigration - begging for rupees or bakshish. Same old India and its officers corrupt corrupt. Cant take take it out even at the air port!

SIA increases flights to Australia, India SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Friday it has increased flights to India and Australia to cater for seasonally high demand during the year-end holiday season.

The carrier said it has put another two flights to Perth, raising its frequency to the Australian city to 21 times a week.

For India, the carrier has launched an extra service to New Delhi this month, bringing its weekly frequency to eight and in January, SIA will add two more services on the route. SIA will also add one more flight to Amritsar from January onwards, raising its services to the Indian destination to four times a week. --AFP